Straight edge gauge



' 1935', L. e SCHNEIDER STRAIGHT EDGE GAUGE Filed Aug. 6, 1934 Patented July 23, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT orrice 3 Claims.

This invention relates to appliances for use in connection with the setting of straight edges whereby margins of predetermined width may be cut from a series of flat sheets such as wall -5 paper.

In the hanging of wall paper with such care as to perfectly match the designs thereon at the abutting edges of the vertical strips of paper, much time and care is required with the customary equipment and means of operation.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a mechanical means for cooperating with engaging straight edges whereby uniform trimming of the sheet material may be assured and rapidly performed without the necessity of measuring, marking or piercing each of the sheets, which are successively operated upon, and then having difficulty in properly setting the straight edge.

The purposes of the invention are accomplished by means of the construction as illustrated in the drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 shows in away the improved gauge and straight edge.

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional detail of the straight edge as indicated by the line 2-2 of Fig. l, but on an enlarged scale.

The improved construction is applicable for use in connection with any of the standard straight edges, whether made of wood or metal such as employed in the work of paper hanging.

The actual trimming of the paper is done by means of a knife of either the sliding or rotating kind, which is drawn along and guided by the straight edge, but the placing of the straight edge on the paper is generally done according to marks placed on the paper so that a definite margin may be removed. The extent of the marginal portion which must be trimmed from the paper depends upon conditions of the stock such as the fact that wallpaper is generally off color to some extent near the edge of the rolls, and it is desirable to trim the paper accordingly.

Also uniformity of trimming is desirable in order to properly match the sections of the design on different strips.

To avoid the necessity of measuring and mark- 50 ing each sheet on the pasting and trimming table the construction herein disclosed is provided attached to the table and consists preferably of a straight metal band of approximately the full length of the straight edge used in connection therewith, and this band having projecting plain and partly broken cooperating stepped members at its side and near the ends thereof.

A strip of wallpaper which is on the table face down and having the paste applied thereto is folded to cover the paste and there is shifted so that its untrimmed edge engages the edge of the metallic band. The straight edge is adjusted parallel to this band and spaced therefrom as required for the trimming operation by cooperation with the stepped plate gauges at the ends of the 10 band. For this reason the straight edge near its ends carries projecting fingers for engaging the selected corresponding steps on the gauge members.

The step gauge elements and the connecting 15 strip of metal extending therebetween are preferably punched from some noncorrosive metal such as aluminum, zinc or copper alloys.

The gauge elements I and 2 are alike and may be integral or separate from the straight band 3 20 extending between the gauge members. Each of these gauges is provided with a series of steps which may for example be one-quarter inch wide and offset one-eighth inch.

The gauges l and 2 and the strip 3 are fixed to 5 the surface of the work table 4 along one edge thereof, the stepped part of the article facing inwardly away from the operators side 5 of the table 4.

Tacks for securing the gauging device to the 30 table are indicated at 6. The straight edge 1 is a standard article, except that at each end it has a cleat or projection 8 for engaging corresponding steps on the gauge plates I and 2, for example if one of the cleats B is engaged with a particular 5 step on plate 2, the other cleat would necessarily engage the corresponding step on plate I. Therefore, in cutting a series of strips the operator need only, regularly for each strip, see that one of the cleats 8 engages the selected step on one of the 40 plates for that particular job, and then by drawing the straight edge toward the gauge surface, it is stopped correctly by the other cleat 8. The steps on the plates l and 2 used for any one job may be marked or simply noted by the operator. 45

A preferred way of mounting the cleats 8 on the straight edge, if the straight edge happens to be made of wood, is indicated in Fig. 2. Each cleat is held by a pair of screws and so tensioned as to project slightly downward from the lower surface of the straight edge which aids in insuring contact between the cleats and the gauges if the latter are made of extremely thin material and also forming a resilient rest for the straight edge and holding the edge thereof where the cut is made slightly away from the paper. Thepart of the table where the cutting is done is covered by a soft metal sheet 9 extending under the gauges and the band 3 and may be integral with the band 3 bent backwardly thereon as shown.

In the use of this equipment the series of paper s .ips which are to be trimmed are laid in a pile, face down on the table. After the paste has been applied to the uppermost strip its ends are folded inwardly so that the pasted surfaces come together as usual. Then the strip of paper is shifted so that the edge to be trimmed comes in contact with the edge it of the metal band 3. The paper is thus alined with the stepped gauge elements and the straight edge is placed with the cleats 8 engaging corresponding steps on the plates and The paper is then trimmed by drawing the knife along straight edge '5. The cut is thus definitely spaced down to a fraction of an inch and absolutely parallel with the edge of the paper. The operator continues in the same Way, always selecting the same step on one of the gauges and accordingly all the strips of paper are trimmed alike with assurance that the design may be matched at the abutting edges of the strips when applied to a wall.

I claim:

1. The combination with a straight edge having a lateral projection at each end, of a cooper' ating straight band, having at each end gauge elements for cooperating with the projections on the straight edge, each of said gauge elements being formed to provide a series .of steps, and the corresponding steps on each plate all being spaced equally apart lengthwise of the band.

2. A paper hangers table having on opposite sides of its top near one edge of the table gauge elements each having an operating surface extending at an angle horizontally with reference to the edge of the table, said surfaces on the gauge elements being parallel to each other, and a straight edge having at each end a. projection for cooperating with the surface of one of said gauge elements.

3. A paper hangers table having on opposite sides of its top near one edge of the table gauge elements each having an operating surface extending at an. angle horizontally with reference to the edge of the table, said surfaces on the gauge elements being parallel to each other, and a straight edge having at each end a projection for cooperating with the surface of one of said gauge elements, and said surfaces of the gauge elements being formed with a plurality of steps.

LEO G. SCHNEIDER. 

